Paradise Lost
by Sir Perfluous
Summary: Kai and Kendrix's friendship is tested when they volunteer for an away mission to explore an uncharted planet. Little do they know how that relationship may evolve when faced with an agent of Trakeena and the dangers of the planet itself.
1. The Business Trip

**This is set just prior to Lost Galaxy's episode 30 when "you-know-what" happens. That said...**

 **I do not own Power Rangers, its characters, or any of its related intellectual property. I'm just a humble fan doing his best to salute the show.**

* * *

"Come on Kai! Isn't there something you can do? I thought we were buddies," Engineer Damon Henderson pleaded as he exited the mess hall serving line with his friend Kai Chen. The young GSA officer dressed in a crisp blue uniform shook his head patiently and continued to carry his tray to the dining area.

"We are buddies Damon, but I already told you. I don't have any say over the duty rosters for engineers. I'm afraid you're on your own."

"Just great," Damon groaned following Kai toward some open tables, "Those engine maintenance checks will take forever. I'll bet I'll be working double shifts all week now."

The Green Galaxy Ranger was right. The giant space colony of Terra Venture was already a long way from home and had more than its fair share of near brushes with disaster. It had been Commander Stanton's recent idea to halt Terra Venture's progress for some much needed repairs and recharging of the colony's main drive engines.

"Speaking of which," Kai frowned glancing at his watch, "Don't you go on duty in a little while?"

Damon grimaced, "Thanks for reminding me. I've gotta get going or I'll be late for my shift. Catch you later?"

Kai waved goodbye to his friend and continued to make his way through the crowded mess hall. To his right, he could see the panoramic view of a beautiful verdant planet out the large main viewport windows. Though the planet was still uncharted, the colony would remain in high orbit to do its repairs, treating the citizens of Terra Venture to a breathtaking view for the next week or so.

Suddenly, a young female GSA officer wearing the salmon colored uniform of the science division waved him over to her table. "Hey Kai! Over here! We've got one seat open!"

Kai smiled and sat down, greeting his friend and fellow Galaxy Ranger, Kendrix Morgan. The young blonde woman with glasses gave a bright smile and gestured to another young science officer sitting beside her. He was a handsome young man with fair features and wavy hair. "Kai, I'd like you to meet my lab partner, Richard Marsh. Rich, this is my good friend Kai Chen."

"Nice to meet you Lieutenant," Richard said politely shaking his hand and noting the rank insignia on Kai's uniform. "Kendrix has already told me a lot about you."

Kai gave the science officer a surprised look, "Oh?"

"Only good things. I promise," Rich responded with a grin causing Kendrix to giggle and slap his arm playfully. The Blue Ranger paused and held back the urge to give a protective frown.

"Actually, she said you were an Operations officer," Rich added, "According to her, one of the best. Nothing gets by you."

"Oh... well, I don't know about that," Kai replied trying to sound modest, "For one thing, I don't think I ever remember Kendrix ever mentioning you to me."

Rich feigned a dramatic gasp to Kendrix, "What? After all the fun times we spend together every day and you never said anything? You must be trying to keep me all to yourself."

Kai began eating his lunch quietly and forced a smile as Kendrix began giggling again while shoving his arm, "Oh, Rich! Stop it!"

The Blue Ranger wasn't exactly sure why, but something about their banter and familiarity was rubbing him the wrong way... much the same way he had felt when he first met Leo Corbett. Reminding himself that he was a disciplined and professional officer, Kai pushed the feeling aside and cleared his throat, "So Rich, you said you were Kendrix's lab partner?"

"Oh yes, ever since we launched from Earth" he nodded, "Though to be perfectly honest, I often feel more like her assistant. Your friend Kendrix here is a brilliant mind and I'm usually the one learning from her in the lab."

At that, the Pink Ranger blushed a little and tried to wave it off with a modest smile.

"Oh... well... I knew that too," Kai added quickly trying to keep the conversation going. "I know she was always getting the highest scores on science exams during our time at the Academy."

Rich sighed, "Yeah, I don't really miss the Academy training... especially the survival and combat courses. I always stunk at those. I never really saw the point in having to go through those if I was going into the science division anyway."

Kai looked up in surprise, suddenly feeling a little bit of defensiveness and indignation. After all, he had come from a strict military family and had the value of those skills hammered into him from a young age. "Terra Venture may have its own defense force, but we're all the way out here in unfamiliar space with possible enemies everywhere. Even if we have our different jobs, every citizen of the colony has to be ready to be a soldier and defend our home if need be."

Rich blinked in surprise at Kai's outburst wondering if he'd touched a nerve while Kendrix put down her fork trying to come up with some words to diffuse the situation.

To her relief, a uniformed aide from the colony's bridge staff approached and cleared her throat, "Excuse me, Lieutenants Chen and Morgan? Commander Stanton asked me to come and fetch you. He has something he'd like to discuss with some of the officers."

Seeing his out, Kai rose from the table and gave a smart nod to the young and immaculately dressed aide, "Of course. We'll be right with you. Rich, it was nice meeting you. Good luck with your labwork."

Richard Marsh gave a puzzled look as Kendrix gave him an apologetic shrug and rose from the table hurrying out of the mess hall after Kai and Stanton's aide.

* * *

After taking a turbolift up to the command decks of the colony, Kai and Kendrix walked side by side down the sterile brightly lit corridors behind Stanton's aide. As they walked Kendrix glanced over to her friend and said in a quiet hiss, "Kai, what's gotten into you? What was all that about back there?"

"I... nothing," Kai answered back softly. "Sorry. I'm just having a bad morning, that's all."

Kendrix gave her friend a concerned glance before shrugging it off, "That's ok. Are you sure you'll be fine?"

That was one thing Kai had always liked about Kendrix. She could be angry, upset, or distracted by a million things at once, but she would always worry and try to put the well being of her own friends first.

"I'll be ok. Forget it," he said reassuringly as the last bulkhead door opened and the two were led to the command deck. Standing at the bridge looking out over the stars was the smartly dressed senior officer of Terra Venture, Commander Stanton. The older bearded man exuded an air of calm and dignified command as he waited with his arms behind his back.

"Lieutenants Chen and Morgan, thank you for coming," he smiled warmly, "At ease."

The two young officers crisply saluted and took a resting stance as Stanton approached, "I'm sorry to have interrupted your lunch hour but I didn't have much time. I was looking for volunteers for an upcoming mission."

"Volunteers, sir?" Kai asked in surprise.

Stanton nodded and gestured out the window to the planet below. "I'm in need of volunteers for an exploratory mission of the planet below... one that our Astrometrics people have named Oasis."

The two Rangers exchanged a puzzled glance while Stanton began pacing the deck thoughtfully, "Dr. Carr of the Science Division had noted that there are habitable conditions on Oasis. She suggested we send a team to do some exploration of the plant species there for medical research. Seeing as how we'll be in orbit for a week doing maintenance on the engines, I cleared the mission, except Dr. Carr has fallen ill. I was wondering if you'd like to oversee the field team Lt. Morgan."

Kendrix's face suddenly lit up with excitement, "Of course! Thank you sir! I think that's a terrific idea!"

Turning to Kai, Commander Stanton gave a nod, "Lt. Chen, I was thinking you could take a small security detachment of troopers to tag along and escort the scientists."

Kai paused a moment, "Thank you for considering me sir, but are you sure? I mean, we really don't even know what's down there. Shouldn't we be more careful?"

"That's why I think you'd be a good choice to lead the security detail," Stanton grinned clapping Kai on the shoulder, "Besides, I think it would be good for you to get out more and explore beyond the safety of your work console from time to time, don't you think?"

Kai remained quiet. To be honest, he liked the boring safety and routine of his daily work. After all, he already got enough regular danger and excitement from being a Power Ranger, but he couldn't tell Stanton that.

Kendrix turned to her friend with an imploring look, "Come on Kai! Commander Stanton is right. This could be a lot of fun. We'd also have a chance to hang out more too. What do you say?"

Kendrix did have a good point, Kai thought to himself. In all likelihood it was going to be a boring routine away mission. Why not take the opportunity to spend a little free time with her anyway? Since they had become Power Rangers, it seemed like it had been quite a while since the two of them had been able to have any one on one time anyway.

Giving her a small grin, he nodded, "Ok, sure. Why not?"

Kendrix gave another excited nod as she tugged at his sleeve and Stanton nodded, "Very good. I've got another meeting to attend now, but I'll leave you two to put your teams together. The shuttle leaves for the planet at 0900 tomorrow morning. Dismissed."

* * *

The next morning, Kai made his way to one of the colony's launch bays where their shuttle was preparing to depart for Oasis. He was dressed in the black and gray combat uniform of the GSA security forces and finished securing his flak armor as he entered the hanger. There to greet him were the two other soldiers on his team: Sergeant Murphy and Corporal Garcia.

As Kai approached, the sergeant snapped to attention and gave a crisp salute, "Lt. Chen, we're ready to depart on your orders, sir."

Kai gave an easy nod as he passed by and headed toward the shuttle, "Thanks Sergeant. Why don't you and Corporal Garcia go help the rest of the science team finish loading their equipment. I'll be along shortly."

The two soldiers saluted again and hurried off to help the science team with their gear. While they did, Kai spotted Kendrix and ambled over with a grin until he caught sight of another familiar face. Standing nearby, Richard Marsh was carrying some instruments sharing another laugh with the Pink Ranger. Like her, he was dressed in the same expedition uniform as the other scientists on the away team.

"Oh Kai! There you are!" Kendrix grinned enthusiastically, "Are you all set to go?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Kai answered trying to give a positive face while turning to face her lab partner, "Rich, nice to see you again. I didn't know you'd be coming along too."

Rich gave a sheepish shrug, "Well, to be honest, neither did I. When Kendrix was put in charge of the research team, she insisted I come along."

"Of course!" Kendrix smiled giving him an affectionate poke in the side, "What good is a brilliant scientist without her assistant right?"

Kai was beginning to feel a little sick, but he didn't show it.

"Excuse me you two. I forgot to go over something with my people," he lied giving a polite nod. "I'll catch up with you when it's time to launch."

As Kai stepped away and navigated past the busy hanger bay crewmen, he circled back around the large shuttle craft, only to run into Mike, Leo, and Maya.

"Everyone... I wasn't expecting to see you," Kai blurted out in surprise as the other Rangers approached, "What are you three doing here?"

"Well, we just thought we'd come to see you off," Mike smiled good naturedly as he strode forward and clapped the Blue Ranger's shoulder.

"I thought you'd be tied up at a staff meeting with Commander Stanton," Kai replied regaining his balance.

"He shuffled his schedule around and went to check up on Engineering first," the older Corbett brother shrugged, "Oh, and since Damon is slaving away at the engines, he wanted me to send his regards too."

Turning to Leo and Maya, Kai gave a questioning look before Leo flashed his trademark devil may care grin, "Maya and I had no particular place to be today, so we figured why not come along?"

Before Kai could respond, Mike slapped his hands down on the Blue Rangers shoulders and addressed him with a grin using his patented older brother tone, "Now Kai, I expect you to play nice with the scientists down there. Look after Kendrix and try to get her back at a reasonable hour too, ok?"

Kai rolled his eyes slightly and gave a sigh while Leo and Maya stifled small laughs nearby. "I can't make any promises Mike, but I'll do my best."

At that, the four Rangers heard the engines of the shuttle begin to warm up as the deck crews started to do their last pre-flight spot checks.

"Better hurry up bud. You're gonna miss the bus," Leo said handing Kai his helmet while Maya gave the Blue Ranger a quick hug goodbye.

"Have fun. We'll see you two in a couple days!" Mike called as Kai strapped his helmet on and gave a wave before hurrying up the shuttle ramp.

Once aboard, he quickly strapped himself into a seat between Troopers Murphy and Garcia. Sitting across from him, Kendrix turned her head and graced him with a friendly smile and a thumbs up.

Maybe this trip wouldn't be so bad Kai thought to himself as he returned her smile and thumbs up. Maybe Commander Stanton was also right and a little change of scenery would be good for him too. He's had worse assignments before, but as long as his good friend Kendrix Morgan would be at his side, what's the worst that could really happen, right?

* * *

Meanwhile, on the surface of the planet Oasis, a tall insectoid alien stepped out of his shuttle pod and looked about the dense foliage of the forests around him. While a small group of Sting Winger foot soldiers scurried out from behind and began unloading some gear in the warm open air, the praying mantis like alien Mandragoin smiled as he eyed a nearby shrub full of bright pink flowers that were growing all over the area. "Yes. This will be the perfect spot for my next experiment."

Turning to his minions he growled, "Now hurry it up! Queen Trakeena wants results and we're going to give them to her!"

* * *

 **To Be Continued...**

 **A/N:**  
 **Poor Kai. I've always felt he was a terribly underrated character in the fandom. According to the Ranger wiki, Kai came from a strict military family but that never really seemed to be addressed much in the show. I figured I'd give his job with the GSA a little more of a military/security officer flavor to be able to explore that part of his life a little more.**


	2. A Three Hour Tour

"All right, let's get to work!" Kai called to his security detail while the away team of scientists began unloading their equipment. Nearby, the pilot of the small shuttle craft named Ensign Rinaldi fiddled with the ship's transmitter and grumbled.

"Seems like there's a lot of electromagnetic activity in the planet's atmosphere, sir. It's gonna be hard to maintain an extended com link with Terra Venture."

Kai nodded, "In that case, we'll send a short transmission every few hours when the colony is orbiting above us just so they know we're ok. For now, let's give Murphy and Garcia a hand."

For the next several hours, the away team got to work setting up a small campsite along with their scientific instruments. They had landed near the clearing of a forested area in the planet's temperate zone hoping it would have a wide array of plant and animal life to examine. After taking a break for the afternoon, Kai took a short walk around the perimeter of the camp to examine the terrain before stopping at a small peaceful brook.

To his surprise, the forest, and planet for that matter seemed very earth-like and he took a moment to admire the peaceful sounds of the running water and gentle wind blowing. Across the stream, he could see many colorful flowers growing along the banks, but most notably, a vibrant pink colored lotus type flower.

"I thought I'd find you here," came a teasing voice from behind startling Kai. The Blue Ranger turned in surprise to see Kendrix approach from behind, "Too cool to hang out with the rest of us in camp?"

Kai gave a small relieved smile and shook his head, "Actually I was scouting the area out to make sure the campsite would be well defended."

"Why am I not surprised?" Kendrix chuckled walking past him to kneel over by the gently running water. "You're always looking out for everyone. Even during our time at the Academy, you always had to be Mr. voice of caution and reason."

Kai walked over and knelt down beside her at the stream playfully nudging her shoulder. With an exaggerated officious voice he replied, "Well somebody's got to be. Besides, you say that like it's a bad thing."

"It's not," Kendrix smiled brightly, "It's actually one thing I really like about you."

Kai blinked a moment before the Pink Ranger scooped up a small handful of water and flicked it at him with a merry laugh.

Kai couldn't help but smile and laugh too as he took a handful of water and splashed her back. As the two friends began laughing and rough housing, the moment was interrupted as Richard Marsh walked up the bank and called out for the Pink Ranger. "Hey Kendrix! I've been looking all over for you! We finally got the high powered microscopes set up."

Kendrix let go of Kai's arm and gave it a gentle pat, "Hey, I'm sorry. I should really get going now."

Kai reluctantly nodded and sat back as Kendrix rose to her feet straightening her mussed up hair while she hurried to catch up after Rich. Turning back to the stream, he gave a glum look before his eyes drifted back toward the pink flowers across the bank. At that moment, Kai's communicator sounded and Sergeant Murphy's voice crackled over the radio, "Sir, base camp is set up and we're about to make our next scheduled contact with the colony."

"Thank you sergeant. I'll be right there." Kai nodded rising to his feet. Glancing at the flowers one more time, he turned and made his way back to camp, deciding to get a better look later on.

* * *

The next day, a small group of scientists left the base camp and made their way through the dense brush of the forested planet. At the forefront of the party, Kai and Trooper Garcia led the way, clearing undergrowth and hacking aside the low hanging brush with machetes. Progress had been slow going, especially since the scientists stopped every so often to collect soil and plant samples.

As he stood around waiting for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, Kai wondered if it would be any easier to cut through the bushes using his Quasar Saber. But his idle thoughts were quickly interrupted as he suddenly found a large pink lotus shoved in his face.

"Kai! Look at this amazing flower," he heard the excited voice of the Pink Ranger say as she continued to show it to him. "I've never seen anything quite like it before."

The Blue Ranger stopped and examined the lotus in the hands of his friend. It was the same kind of flower he had seen growing on the banks of the creek near base camp.

"Where did you find that?" Kai asked pushing the flower aside as he suddenly felt a quick rush of adrenaline. The strange sensation had been momentary, but it still left him with a slight headrush.

"Oh, these flowers were growing all over the place just up ahead," Kendrix said putting the flower in a plastic sample bag. "It seems like this area is littered with them."

Standing nearby, Rich was handling another flower with a slightly uncomfortable look on his face. As the scientist quickly wiped his brow, Trooper Garcia reacted quickly and pushed Rich aside as a Sting Winger with a reddish tinge jumped out of a nearby rustling bush.

Glancing to each other, both Rangers realized they couldn't morph in front of their fellow colonists as a small pack of the gibbering insectoids emerged from the brush. Like the first one, the other Sting Wingers bore a reddish tinge along their exoskeletons.

"Kendrix, get the scientists to safety," Kai called pulling his laser rifle from around his shoulder, "I'll buy you some time. Corporal, on me!"

As Kendrix directed the scrambling scientists to safety, Corporal Garcia hurried over to Kai and the two opened fire on the bugs with their rifles. A hail of laser fire cut through the bushes striking several of the Sting Wingers, throwing them to the ground. To the soldiers' surprise, the wounded insectoid foot soldiers rose again to their feet gesturing furiously with their claws.

"Uh... what do we do now, sir?" Garcia gulped in fear slapping a fresh energy pack into his rifle.

Kai eyed the unnatural Sting Wingers as they advanced again, "Right now, I've only got one plan... keep firing!"

Both soldiers unloaded another blaster volley on the charging enemies finally taking several of the wounded ones down for good. Despite the soldiers' marksmanship, a few remaining minions got through into melee range and began swinging with their claws. Kai and Gracia stood their ground and deflected the attacks with their rifles, using their feet to counterattack with several well placed kicks.

While he fought, Kai turned in surprise as a Sting Winger snuck up on him from behind and raised a claw to strike. In a flash, Kendrix leapt back into the fray and kicked the insectoid soldier away with a flying kick. To the Blue Ranger's surprise, Kendrix grabbed the plasma pistol he kept holstered at his side and drew it toward the enemies. "Mind if I borrow this a minute?"

Spinning back around, Kendrix crouched and opened fire hitting the remaining sting wingers while Kai finished them off with a couple well placed follow up shots.

"Thanks for the help," Kai smiled to his friend as Kendrix gave a proud look and handed back his pistol, "Not too bad for a civilian."

Kendrix gave him a light slap in the arm as Trooper Garcia examined the fallen insectoids to make sure they were in fact dead. "I don't know about you sir, but these Sting Wingers don't look right," he said giving one of them a small kick, "I've never seen their shells look so red before."

"I know what you mean," Kai nodded to the younger soldier, "They seemed a lot tougher and more aggressive than your average bug."

As he said that, Kendrix knelt down near a fallen Sting Winger and began to take some samples of the shell, claws, and blood. "Just give me a minute. I want to try and collect some data on our super bugs here. Maybe we can use some of our equipment back in camp to figure out what's going on here."

"Well whatever you do, make it quick," Kai answered scanning their surroundings, "There might be more of those things around here and we need to get back to secure our campsite."

* * *

After a short rest, the expeditionary party quickly made their way back to camp but stopped when they saw small plumes of black smoke rising from the near distance. As they exchanged a fearful look and picked up their pace, Kai and Kendrix quickly led their people back until they came across the ruins of the former base camp. Although it was in a small clearing, small fires burned at the periphery while supplies and gear from the tents lay scattered about the grounds.

The colonists all held their breaths as they tensely walked about the campsite looking for any remaining dangers still lurking about. Strangely enough, the other members of the away team that had stayed behind for the morning were nowhere to be seen.

"What the hell happened here?" Kai muttered to himself as Kendrix and some of the other scientists picked through the ransacked items of the camp. As she turned the corner around a dilapidated tent, Kendrix gasped as she came across the form of veteran Sergeant Murphy. All about him lay several of the red colored sting wingers. From his position on the ground, Murphy had pushed himself into an upright position against a crate and groaned in both pain and fatigue.

"Hey! Over here!" Kendrix called to the others as she knelt down to tend to the injured Murphy.

When Kai approached, Murphy put his water canteen down and wiped his grimy face. "Sergeant? Are you all right? What happened here?"

Murphy grunted and gave a look to the dead insectoids, "Sir, about an hour after you left a whole bunch of these critters showed up and hit the camp on all sides. I don't know where they came from, but they captured everybody here along with Ensign Rinaldi. I tried to fight back, but... I'm sorry Lieutenant."

Kai shook his head, "It's not your fault Murphy. You did your best. Any idea where the enemy took our people to?"

The trooper shook his head. "Not really. I saw them head off east. That's about all I remember before getting knocked out."

Kendrix grimaced as she put a damp cloth to Murphy's neck, "Kai, we've got to get our people back. Who knows what the bugs are going to do? I think we should radio the colony and send a distress signal."

As she said that, Trooper Garcia hurried over from the central tent in camp with a grim expression, "Bad news sir... ma'am... communications are down. It looks like the bugs wrecked our radio transmitters too."

The Pink Ranger's eyes went wide, "What? When are we supposed to make radio contact with the colony again?"

Garcia checked his watch, "Not for another three hours ma'am."

"Damn!" Kai growled trying to get his brain into overdrive. This was not what was supposed to happen on the away mission and things had just gone from bad to worse.

Surveying the camp ground, Kai chewed his lip in thought. "Garcia, do what you can to repair the radio. Salvage any spare parts from the shuttle if you have to. Kendrix, I think you and I should go try to track down our missing people."

"Hold on a second Kai," Rich interrupted, "We don't know what's out there. Don't you think we should wait for help? Maybe we could run some tests on these Sting Wingers and find out what their deal is."

The Blue Ranger shook his head indignantly, "We can't wait forever! It'll take time before Terra Venture figures out something went wrong. Who knows what those bugs are going to do to our people in the mean time?"

Kendrix raised her hand up and stood between the two men as they began to argue, "Wait! I agree with Rich. Let's run a few tests first and figure out what we're up against."

Kai looked at her in surprise before subtly gesturing to the galaxy morpher tucked underneath the sleeve of his uniform, "Kendrix, I'm sure we can find a way to call for help in time, don't you think? We've got to go now."

"Will you cool it?" Rich interrupted, cutting in while putting a restraining arm on the Blue Ranger, "Those bugs are dangerous! Do you want to put Kendrix in danger and get her hurt too?"

Kai glared at Rich feeling his temper flare. He was in charge of protecting his fellow colonists and he was a Power Ranger. People were danger and a sheltered scientist was telling him what to do? If only Rich knew that Kendrix was also a Ranger who could handle herself in a fight. Even worse, Kendrix was taking Rich's side in the argument.

Kai shoved Rich's hand off, "She knows what he's doing. I wasn't aware you were speaking for her now too."

The Pink Ranger suddenly stepped forward and fixed Kai with a hard gaze, "Kai! That's enough! I'll come with you to look for the others… just give me a little time to run a few quick tests… please."

Kai glanced to Rich for a moment before turning back to her with a slightly softer nod. "Fine. We'll head out in one hour. I'm going to go help Garcia with the radio transmitter."

Kendrix watched as the Blue Ranger turned away and grudgingly stalked off toward the central tent where the corporal was still fiddling with the damaged radio. Shaking her head, she gestured to Rich and some of the remaining scientists to gather some equipment and help her get started on analyzing the Sting Winger samples.

* * *

 **To Be Continued...**


	3. Stop and Smell the Lotuses

"All right Kai, we'll be there as soon as the colony makes its next orbit." Leo said through his transmorpher, "Just sit tight for now, ok?"

The Blue Ranger sighed as he lowered his morpher and strapped his helmet back on. This trip had become a complete disaster, he thought to himself. All he had wanted to do was relax and spend a little quality time with Kendrix. Ever since her lab partner had butted in, it seemed the Blue Ranger been dealing with killer monsters, missing scientists, and getting cut off from Terra Venture on top of it all.

As he made his way back to the center of the ruined camp, he found Kendrix waiting for him. She had borrowed Sgt. Murphy's flak vest along with his laser rifle and studied a small datapad while she waited.

"The radio transmitter is almost fixed," Kai announced, "Garcia will finish up here and watch the camp with Murphy. I also got hold of Leo and he said our friends were on their way."

"That's good news," Kendrix sighed giving a nod, "I'm ready to go when you are."

Just then, the two were interrupted yet again as Rich stepped out from a nearby tent holding a spare plasma pistol. "I'm coming too."

"No you're not," Kai answered quickly, "You're only going to get in the way."

Kendrix shot Kai a reproachful frown before giving a softer look toward her lab partner, "Rich, maybe you should just stay here. You know, help watch over the camp?"

The scientist shook his head, "No. We're partners Kendrix. I go where you go."

Sensing the Blue Ranger about to protest again, Rich added, "I'm an officer of equal rank so you're not going to order me to stay in camp either."

Kendrix turned to Kai with an apologetic expression before the Blue Ranger strapped his rifle to his back and began heading out into the brush with a sigh, "All right. Suit yourself Gilligan. Just don't come crying to me if you get eaten by the bugs."

* * *

Following Sgt. Murphy's directions and natural clues left from the captured scientists, Kai, Kendrix, and Rich made their way deeper through the thick overgrown forests. It had been a while now and Kendrix idly spoke to Kai as they continued to plod on.

"You remember those big pink flowers we were looking at earlier?" the Pink Ranger asked bushing aside some branches, "I think they have something to do with those crazy Sting Wingers."

Kai looked to his friend curiously and gestured ahead where more of the pink flowers appeared to be growing from low hanging shrubs. Kendrix nodded and adjusted her glasses before pulling out her small datapad. "Based on the quick tests I was able to run, it seemed there was stimulated activity in several of the Sting Wingers's glands. There were extremely high levels of adrenaline and hormones linked to aggression."

"I don't get it," Kai said, "What does that have to do with the flowers?"

Kendrix gave a proud smile, "Pheremones Kai. There were chemical traces on the insectoids that matched the ones given off by the pink flowers."

"But how would minor sources of the pheromone create such an extreme effect on the bugs?" Kai asked pushing aside more brush so Kendrix and Rich could pass.

"Fair point. That's what I'm still trying to figure out," Kendrix agreed with a perplexed frown. "Still, the only thing I was able to determine was that it seemed to have a more pronounced effect on males. Strange huh?"

Kai and Rich quickly exchanged a troubled glance before following her further on the flower lined path.

The three continued on for a ways before stopping at a babbling stream to rest. It had already been a long day and fatigue was beginning to set in as the afternoon wore on. As Kendrix and Rich sat down by the water to cool off, Kai remained on guard, standing off to the edges of their resting spot.

Glancing over, he noticed more of the pink flowers around him and grimaced. Since they had begun traveling into this zone of flowers, he had begun to feel increasingly tense and agitated. He was sure if Leo or Mike were there, they'd be making jokes that he was looking even more uptight than usual.

Taking a deep breath, he focused on his duty to save the scientists. After all, he was a disciplined Power Ranger and a GSA officer. Still, if Kendrix was right about the pheremones given off by the flowers, then he could only wonder if Rich was feeling just as uncomfortable, if not moreso.

At that moment, he felt a small tap on his shoulder and turned to see Kendrix holding a canteen and a wrapped granola bar. "Hey, are you ok?" she asked offering some of her rations to him. Again, Kendrix was being her usual concerned self.

Kai waved the food off and shook his head slightly, "A little uncomfortable. I think you might be right about these flowers. My head feels a bit foggy, but I think I'll live."

"All right, but that's not quite what I was getting at either," the Pink Ranger replied, "I meant is everything going ok with you? With us?"

Kai blinked a moment and looked at her in confusion before she continued, "You've been acting really weird these last few days."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kai muttered quickly.

Kendrix put her hands on her hips and gave a pointed look, "Well for starters, you've been defensive, argumentative, and sulky, and it's only gotten worse since we got here. I'm a little concerned."

"Oh, so now all of a sudden you're worried about me?" Kai said petulantly turning away and brushing aside some of the pink flowers around him. "I figured you'd be more concerned for your new best friend Rich."

Kendrix frowned in confusion, "Rich? Kai…what are you even talking about?"

The Blue Ranger growled, "You know, when we took this mission to Oasis, I was really looking forward to spending some personal time with you… like we did before we became Power Rangers… before everyone else came along."

"But Kai, things are kind of different now," Kendrix answered stubbornly marching up to him, "I wanted Rich to come along on this mission because we're friends too. Besides, why is it so important that only the two of us have to be here on this planet?"

"You really have to ask me that?" Kai answered heatedly.

He wasn't sure if it was the flowery chemicals in the air, his own jealousy, or the delirium from the events of the day, but the Blue Ranger found himself quickly reaching out with both hands and cupping them over Kendrix's cheeks. This wasn't something he normally did, correction… this was something he never did, but in the heat of the moment, he leaned down and pressed his lips to Kendrix's. It was an aggressive kiss, but while it was short, it was still one with a lot of fire and passion bubbling underneath.

As he let go and pulled away, the Pink Ranger blinked for a moment as she stood frozen in astonishment. Suddenly seeing what had happened in his hormone induced haze, Kai snapped to his senses for the briefest of moments. Now his heart was racing and his face felt hot, but for different reasons. "Wait, Kendrix… I'm sorry… I can explain…"

Before she could speak, the two were interrupted as they heard Rich's voice call out from the stream. "Hey! Guys! Over here! I think I found something."

The Blue Ranger gave a quick look to his friend, relieved he had a momentary break from any awkward conversation, "We should probably go check that out."

"Ah… right… yes," Kendrix said taking a moment to compose herself too.

* * *

The two hurried over to the other side of the stream and up the bank where Rich had taken a position by some nearby flower bushes. As they neared, they could see Rich was looking just as piqued as Kai was. Kneeling down by his hiding spot, Rich pointed down a hill where the Rangers spotted what looked to be another campsite. To their horror, they saw the missing group of scientists huddled together in a ring while being guarded by more of the savage red tinted Sting Wingers.

From a large nearby tent, the three observed a tall praying mantis like alien emerge triumphantly holding a large syringe filled with pink fluid.

"What should we do now?" Rich hissed nervously as he gripped his laser pistol.

The two Rangers looked to one another, their minds now focused on saving their fellow colonists. After a pause, Kai gave a determined look, "I'm going to go ahead and draw off the bugs. I think you and Kendrix should circle around from the other side and free the prisoners."

The Pink Ranger turned to him with concern, "Are you sure about this? That sounds really dangerous... even for us."

Kai grimaced and put a firm hand on her shoulder to steady himself, "I know Kendrix, but we don't have time or options. That mantis thing has a big syringe and who knows what it's about to do to our people."

"Ok, good luck," the Pink Ranger nodded quietly as he slipped ahead to get into a better spot. Following his lead, Kendrix motioned Rich over to quietly maneuver around to the far edge of the enemy camp on the other side.

While they made their approach, the insectoid scientist Mandragorin approached the captured scientists with a cruel laugh. "At last, the newest batch of my super serum is ready for testing."

Reaching to his side, he held up one of the Pink Lotus flowers and examined it thoughtfully, "To think, the concentrated chemicals in this little flower have enough potential to create a new breed of berserker soldiers who are even more resistant to injury and fatigue. Queen Trakeena will be thrilled! Now... which one of you humans would like to be the first test subject for the finalized version of my drug?"

Mandragorin was cut off as the crack of a laser blast sounded and the Sting Winger guard beside him crumpled to the ground. The mantis alien and his guards whirled around to see Kai Chen holding a smoking rifle with a grin. "I'll do it... but first you're going to have to catch me."

Waving a bladed arm, Mandragorin roared, "How dare you interfere! Sting Wingers! Get him!"

Firing off a few more rounds, Kai turned and darted back into the bushes with all the insectoids now in hot pursuit. While the Blue Ranger led them off into the brush, Kendrix and Rich emerged from their hiding places and hurried over to the captured scientists. Gesturing for the relieved hostages to be quiet, Kendrix pulled out a utility knife and quickly cut their bonds.

While she did, Rich turned in alarm as she saw a few Sting Wingers at the edge of the camp turn around and realize they were suckered into a diversion. Giving a string of angry clicks and hisses, calling to the others, the remaining guards attacked the two rescuers.

As the last of the prisoners was freed, Kendrix looked up in fear as Rich stood his ground and opened fire on the advancing soldiers. While he hit several of them, the drug enhanced Sting Wingers kept charging and soon fell on top of him. As the scientist kicked out desperate to ward off his attackers, one of the insectoids slashed him in the thigh with its sharp stinger claw, and hurled him to the ground. Before they could finish him off, Kendrix rushed in and mowed the rest of the insects down with her laser.

"Are you ok?" she asked her lab partner bending down quickly to examine his injury.

Rich winced as Kendrix helped him rise, "It's a deep gash, but I think I might be able to make it back to camp."

The Pink Ranger nodded and handed him off to Ensign Rinaldi along with her rifle, "All right. Rich, you and Rinaldi lead the rest of our people back to camp. I'm going to stay and help Kai."

"But Kendrix..." he protested.

The Pink Ranger gave an authoritative call, "Don't argue with me Rich! I'm not leaving him."

Her lab partner gave a rebuked nod, and quickly headed back to base camp along with the others. After they had gotten clear, Kendrix hurried over to the other end of the enemy camp where she saw Kai go flying from the bushes and roll along the ground in front of her.

"Not so cocky without your little toy, are you?" Mandragorin cackled as he held Kai's laser rifle, then split it in half with one motion of his bladed arm.

Kendrix helped her friend rise to his feet and the two Rangers squared off against the insectoid scientist and his drug enhanced guards.

"You want to see real toys?" Kai grinned as the two reached for their morphers, We'll show you ours. Go Galactic!"

Both Rangers activated their morphers and momentarily disappeared in a bright shimmering light. To the bugs' surprise, two Power Rangers stood before them and drew out their Quasar Sabers with lightning speed. In his morphed form, the Blue Ranger felt relief from the effects of all the pink flowers' chemicals as his suit protected him from the pheremones in the air.

As his clear head and focus returned, he turned to his friend with a grin while readying his blade, "Are you ready Kendrix?"

She smiled in return as she raised her sword and gave a thumbs up, "Let's get to work!"

* * *

 **To Be Concluded...**


	4. True Blue Hero

Mandragorin growled as the Pink and Blue Rangers worked together to carve through the super Sting Wingers and block the strikes of his bladed arms before counter attacking. Parrying aside another swing with his Quasar Saber, Kai struck low kicking out the mantis monster's feet while Kendrix rolled off his back and landed a high follow up blow on the insectoid's head. As Mandragorin regained his senses, he was thrown back again by the elemental charged sword strikes of the two Rangers.

"Have you had enough?" Kendrix called leveling her saber and taking another ready stance.

The mantis monster staggered to its feet and brandished the pink syringe in its claws. With what almost looked like a grin from its mandibles, Mandragorin injected himself with his own serum. "You two think you're the only ones who can metamorph? Well, so can I!"

Both Rangers backpedaled a moment and watched in shock while the mantis seemed to suddenly grow a few inches taller and turn an angry red color. Even the shape of the monsters' exoskeleton bulged while its wings and claws took on a jagged and more menacing appearance.

"Oh, this does not look good at all," Kai muttered bracing himself for the monster to charge.

But the charge never came. Before Kai and Kendrix could react, the sound of jet jammer engines echoed through the trees and the other Galaxy Rangers dropped onto the battlefield from above.

"Sorry we're late," Mike called as the Magna Defender pulled his sword and looked to his two friends "We came here as fast as we could."

Nearby, the Green Ranger gave a thumbs up and added, "I owe you guys one. I'll take battling monsters over scrubbing out Terra Venture's engines any day of the week."

Kai nodded and pointed toward the furious Mandragorin, "Be careful everyone. That bug just took some sort of super steroid. He just got a lot tougher than before."

"Well we can get a lot tougher too," Leo grinned stepping forward and gathering the others together, "Ready? Lights of Orion! Activate!"

As the Galaxy Rangers moved in unison, they were engulfed in a powerful golden glow of light, endowing them with their enhanced weapons and armor.

"All right, let's end this now," the Red Ranger called leading the charge.

In a flash, the Galaxy Rangers surged forward and combined into a brilliant fireball of pulsing golden energy. Before Mandragoin knew what hit him, the ball of energy blasted a hole clean through him and destroyed the monster while the Rangers rematerialized across the battlefield.

Upon seeing the mantis scientist destroyed, Kendrix powered down and quickly turned to the others, "Everyone, I'm going back to camp to make sure the others are ok. Don't wait up for me."

"Wait! Hold on Kendrix. What's the big rush?" Kai asked reaching out to stop her a moment.

"Rich got hurt in the fight. I have to make sure he's ok."

The Blue Ranger paused a moment, glad that his face was still concealed by his helmet. The Ranger part of him knew that she was right and that a hurt civilian was always first priority. Still, the selfish human part of him still couldn't help but feel a little jealous. He simply nodded and let her go.

As he watched her hurry off into the brush back toward base camp, Leo walked over and put a steadying hand on Kai's shoulder, "Hey, Mike and Damon will head back to Terra Venture and get help. In the mean time, Maya and I will stay with you guys just in case there are any more of those Sting Wingers left, ok?"

Kai turned to him and took a breath, reminding himself yet again that he had to stay focused on helping the colonists. His duty as a Ranger and a GSA officer always had to come first. "All right Leo. Let's go help the others. But while we're here, you might want to stay morphed…"

* * *

After disposing of Mandragorin's research and tearing down the enemy campsite, the Rangers spent the rest of the day evacuating their scientists back to Terra Venture. It had been a grueling and time consuming process to load all their cargo and salvage what was left of their damaged supplies.

Despite the fact that their stay on the planet of Oasis was short, the science team did manage to gather some data and samples of the local flora, though not as much as they would have liked. Whether or not the data was enough to make the trip worthwhile remained to be seen, but that wasn't Kai's problem. While the away team took off from the site in their shuttle and left the planet's atmosphere, the Blue Ranger felt relief that all their people had been recovered.

Having gotten away from all those pink mind numbing flowers, he was more relieved he could think clearly again. Still, he was not looking forward to giving Stanton a full mission report at the next briefing… or talking to Kendrix again when they got back to work.

* * *

A few days later, Kai Chen emerged from Commander Stanton's office and gave a deep sigh. Although he had nothing to worry about and received only praise from the Commander, the Blue Ranger felt exhausted after enduring an hour of questions and preparing a complete written report. On the plus side, he had been given a few days off before the colony left the orbit of Oasis so he wondered what to do with his free time.

No doubt Damon and Mike were still busy with their duties so that ruled them out. Maya would likely be in one of the nature domes communing with the wilderness… so another definite no. After the misadventure on Oasis, Kai felt he had his fill of "nature" for a while. That left Leo, but Kai wasn't really in the mood for going out and doing anything exciting with the Red Ranger either.

As he aimlessly wandered the hallways, he eventually found himself at the entrance to the Hydroponics lab. Ambling inside, he looked about and admired the many rows of different flowers and vegetable plants growing in tubes of mineral water. For once, it was nice to know that none of the plants around here were harmful to him or his peace of mind. Finally, he came upon several blue colored flowers and stopped to touch them gently.

It was like the lab itself was telling him that he should go and try to talk with Kendrix and sort out that awkward exchange they had on the planet below. They had been too busy to talk the past few days, but it probably wasn't helping that he was putting it off either. They weren't pink flowers, but these ones seemed as good as any. Giving a sigh, he went to try and go find the lab director to see if he could take a few flowers as a peace offering.

A little while later, Kai headed down the hallways of the crew living quarters and pressed the chime to Kendrix and Maya's room. When the door opened, Maya answered in surprise as she saw the Blue Ranger and the flowers he was carrying, "Oh! Hello Kai. Those are lovely flowers."

"Thanks, but they're actually for Kendrix," Kai said quickly so she wouldn't ask too many questions, "Do you know where she is?"

Maya frowned and gave a thoughtful look, "Last I heard, she was visiting her friend Rich to make sure his leg was recovering from those Sting Wingers."

"Oh... I see. Thanks Maya," Kai sighed glumly turning around and heading back down the hallway before the Yellow Ranger could say anything more.

As he continued on his way and stopped at the doors to the central turbolift, the Blue Ranger decided that at this point there was only one logical thing to do to make himself feel better. He punched in the code to the command deck and straightened his collar. He was going to go back to work.

* * *

Late that evening, Kai gave a yawn in the dimmed lights of the command deck as he sat at his workstation and pushed aside the last of his datapads. It was now late evening hours on the colony and much of the bridge's command crew had retired for the night. Even so, Kai Chen was happy that he volunteered for a double shift and that no one was around. Without the distractions, he had caught up on his work and for now just had the twinkling stars from the viewport to keep him company.

"I thought I might find you here," came a familiar voice from behind making the Blue Ranger jump in his seat. Turning around, Kai found Kendrix making her way up the bridge toward his workstation.

"Kendrix! What are you doing here? I didn't think you were still awake."

"And I did think you'd actually be working after Commander Stanton gave us orders to take a few days off," the Pink Ranger replied coming to stop in front of his desk. "If I had to guess, I'd say you were probably avoiding me."

Kai did his best to maintain his normally cool facade while feigning indifference, "What? Don't be silly. Why would I do that?"

Kendrix gave him a pointed look and put her hands on her hips echoing his words, "Do you really have to ask me that?"

Kai stopped a moment before giving a relenting sigh, "Observant as always Kendrix. I'm guessing Maya told you I stopped by?"

"With a lovely bouquet of blue flowers might I add," Kendrix added gesturing to the small vase of water Kai had placed them in near his desk, "though I doubt these are regulation on the bridge."

Kai sat back in his seat and shrugged, "Well... I was going to bring them to you to say I'm sorry for everything that happened on Oasis. I was unprofessional, and out of line, and I shouldn't have let my feelings get the better of me either."

Kendrix looked over the flowers in the vase, "Well, you shouldn't be too hard on yourself. The pink flowers' chemicals weren't making you think straight after all."

"It doesn't matter," Kai answered quickly, "I still feel really sorry for what I did Kendrix."

Kendrix looked at him curiously for a moment before glancing away with a small blush, "You shouldn't have to, because I'm not sorry about what you did. In fact, I was actually kinda hoping you would have done that at some point... just... maybe not under those particular circumstances."

The Blue Ranger's chin nearly dropped to the floor, "Wait... what?"

Kendrix smiled and reached out, putting a gentle hand over his, "I kinda gathered you were feeling jealous of Rich. He's a great guy, but he and I are just friends... nothing more."

"Well, you could have fooled me," Kai muttered gently rolling his eyes but taking her hand in return.

"Come on Kai. Now you're being silly," Kendrix replied, "That relationship could never compare to the bond between you and I. We've been best friends since our first days of officer training, and even if we're both Power Rangers now, I've seen how you still fuss and look out for me. You don't have to worry, because I know you've always cared... even if you do have a hard time expressing it."

Kai rose to his feet with a slightly relieved look on his face, "Really?"

"Well, I guess I wouldn't be here if I didn't feel the same way too," Kendrix admitted sheepishly.

The Blue Ranger stopped a moment in surprise before giving a small smile, "You know this could change things... I mean the way we fight as Power Rangers, or how we operate at work..."

"A chance I'm willing to take," Kendrix grinned back stepping forward while casually putting her arms around his waist.

"You know," he chuckled softly pulling her closer, "I'd probably have to double check to make sure this isn't against the rules and regs too."

Kendrix rolled her eyes playfully "Oh, you already know from experience that some rules are ok to break, Kai. Besides, you were the one who kissed me first, remember?"

"I did... didn't I?" Kai laughed as he reached over to the desk and presented the vase of flowers with his free hand. "You know, you should be careful. I suddenly have reason to believe these blue flowers might be giving off some pheremones that cloud female judgment too."

"Well, why don't we do a little scientific research and find out together?" the Pink Ranger smiled removing her glasses.

With a laugh, Kai loosened the collar of his uniform and leaned down to draw Kendrix into a soft kiss. While the two friends continued to share a romantic kiss in the dim ambient light of the command deck, they couldn't help but feel relief, not only from their harrowing experience on the planet below, but also for putting to rest a long simmering tension between the two.

Maybe it hadn't been such a bad week after all. As they held each other and continued to gaze out amid the stars with the bright form of the planet below, the two Rangers knew that whatever challenges lay ahead, they would be stronger than ever so long as they were together. At least for now, their future never looked so bright.

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **And then the Psycho Rangers show up in the next canon episode... yeah, I'll stop right there. As always, lots of thanks to anyone who has commented or reviewed! I hope you Lost Galaxy fans or Kai/Kendrix shippers enjoyed this little short story too, because let's face it, they deserved a little moment of focus and happiness. Thanks for reading!  
**


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